Disposable shoe buddy

ABSTRACT

A disposable shoe bottom cover for allowing a user easily cover the bottom of shoes being worn with a securely fitted, non-slip structure. The invention comprises a bottom base with a first front attachment lip, a second front attachment lip, a first back attachment lip, and a second back attachment lip. The bottom base is configured to be stretchable to be placed over and to cover the bottom of a shoe and the attachment lips provide opposing surfaces which allow the disposable shoe bottom cover to be secured to the bottom of a shoe by way of engaging the toe portion of the shoe and the heel portion of the shoe. The invention is operated by supplying manual force to stretch apart one front attachment lip and one back attachment lip, placing the bottom of a shoe on the stretched bottom base, and removing the manual force.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to footwear accessories and, moreparticularly, to a disposable shoe covering for protecting indoor floorsfrom shoe soles and heels.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In today's society, individuals tend to wear shoes almost anywhere theygo. It is well known that a prime way pathogenic microbes and otherundesirable substances enter homes is by being tracked in on the sole ofthe shoes of the inhabitants or visitors. Moreover, the bottom someshoes, such as high heel shoes, are structure in an way which make themprone to scratching or otherwise damaging floor surfaces, including hardwood surfaces. For lack of convenience or for social reasons however, ithas proven difficult for people to completely disallow the wearing ofshoes in their homes or businesses. Thus, a problem which still existsis that the continuing practice of wearing all types of shoes indoorsposes a constant threat of transferring dirt and germs inside and ofdamaging expensive indoor floors. There remains a need for a disposableshoe bottom covering which can be easily and securely placed over thebottom of one's shoe. It would be helpful if such a disposable shoebottom covering was constructed of a non-slip and waterproof material toprotect the wearer and the floor. It would be additionally desirable forsuch a disposable shoe bottom cover to be a one piece, elastic structurewhich could be secured over a plurality of shoe bottom types.

The Applicant's invention described herein provides for a disposableshoe cover adapted to be placed over and fully cover the bottom of anytype of shoe. The primary component of Applicant's disposable shoebottom cover is a base member having a plurality of fastening lips. Whenin operation, the disposable shoe bottom cover allows a user to place adisposable and readily available cover on the bottom of their shoes toprevent tracking substances on the shoe bottoms inside and to protectfloor surfaces. As a result, many of the limitations imposed byresilient social customs and the prior art are removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A disposable shoe bottom cover for allowing a user easily cover thebottom of shoes being worn with a securely fitted, non-slip structure.The disposable shoe bottom cover comprises a bottom base with a firstfront attachment lip, a second front attachment lip, a first backattachment lip, and a second back attachment lip. The bottom base, as abase means for covering, is configured to be stretchable to be placedover and to cover the bottom of a shoe by way of its substantially flatprofile and construction out a clear plastic or silicone material. Theattachment lips provide opposing surfaces which allow the disposableshoe bottom cover to be secured to the bottom of a shoe by way ofengaging the toe portion of the shoe and the heel portion of the shoe.The attachment lips are sized to allow the disposable shoe bottom coverto be selectively configured in real time to be placed on a shoes havinga variety of toe and heel configurations. The first front attachment lipand a second front attachment lip, collectively, define a frontattachment means. The first back attachment lip and a second backattachment lip, collectively, define a back attachment means.

The disposable shoe bottom cover is operated by supplying manual forceto pull and hold one the front attachment lips and one of the backattachment lips in an stretching direction, which causes the bottom baseto stretch as well, placing the bottom of a shoe on the stretched bottombase, and removing the manual force to allow the bottom base to resumeits natural size. By such action, it is contemplated that the selectedfront attachment lip and back attachment lip will engage the toe andheel, respectively, of the shoe placed in the stretched bottom base.

To remove the shoe from the disposable shoe bottom cover, manual forcein a stretching direction must again be supplied to terminate theengagement of the front attachment lip and back attachment lip with thetoe and heel. While such force is supplied, the shoe can be freelyremoved.

It is an object of this invention to provide a disposable shoe bottomcovering which can be easily and securely placed over the bottom ofone's shoe.

It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable shoebottom covering constructed of a non-slip and waterproof material toprotect the wearer and the floor.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a disposable shoebottom cover which was a one piece, elastic structure which could besecured over a plurality of shoe bottom types.

These and other objects will be apparent to one of skill in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a is a top plan perspective view of a disposable shoe bottomcover built in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the disposable shoe bottom coverbuilt in accordance with the present invention having first rear andfirst front attachment lip actuated.

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the disposable shoe bottom coverbuilt in accordance with the present invention having second rear andsecond front attachment lip actuated.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the disposable shoe bottom coverbuilt in accordance with the present invention on a high heel shoe andhaving first rear and second front attachment lip actuated.

FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of an embodiment of a disposable shoebottom cover built in accordance with the present invention on a highheel shoe.

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the disposable shoe bottom coverbuilt in accordance with the present invention on a gym shoe and havingfirst rear and second front attachment lip actuated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and in particular FIG. 1, a disposableshoe bottom cover 10 is shown having a bottom base 11 with a pluralityof attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 defined by a first frontattachment lip 12, a second front attachment lip 13, a first backattachment lip 14 and a second back attachment lip 15. The bottom base11 is a substantially flat piece of material and constructed out a clearplastic or silicone, allowing it to be stretchable over the underside ofa shoe. The bottom base is additionally configured to allow designs,patterns, and colors to be included thereon so as to make it moredesirable to wear from a social standpoint.

The attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15 provide opposing surfaces which allowthe disposable shoe bottom cover 10 to be securely placed on the bottomof a shoe. As the attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15 are provided indifferent sizes, it is contemplated that they allow the disposable shoebottom cover 10 to be selectively configured in real time to be placedon substantially any type of shoe.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the disposable shoe bottom cover 10 isshown with various attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15 actuated. As thedisposable shoe bottom cover 10 is constructed out of an elasticmaterial, the attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15 are actuated by simplymanually pulling and holding whichever lips are desired to be used in afront stretching direction 16 for the front attachment lips 12, 13 and aback stretching direction 17 for the back attachment lips 14, 15. Asselected the attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15, are manually held in theirrespective stretching direction 16, 17, the bottom base 11 stretches aswell. This allows the entire disposable shoe bottom cover 10 to bestretched before placement over a target shoe so that when manual forceis removed, the bottom base and whichever attachment lips 12, 13, 14, 15which were actuated to tighten around the toe and heel of the targetshoe by the reflective recoil action from the stretching. As in FIG. 2,the first front attachment lip 12 and its first back attachment lip 15are actuated. As shown in FIG. 3, the its second front attachment lip 13and its second back attachment lip 16 actuated. It is contemplated,however, that any combination of front attachment lips 12, 13 and backattachment lips 14, 15 can be used together, depending on the structureof the target shoe. For instance, a shoe with a more pointed toe willcustomarily be suited for the first front attachment lip 12 while a shoewith a rounder toe will customarily be suited for the second frontattachment lip 13. Similarly, a shoe with a more narrow heel, such as ahigh heel will customarily be suited for the first back attachment lip14 while a shoe with a wider heel will customarily be suited for thesecond back attachment lip 15.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the disposable shoe bottom cover 10 is shown ona high heel shoe 50 with a wider toe. The bottom base 11 is shownunderneath the bottom of the shoe 50, covering the same, while thesecond front attachment lip 13 is shown actuated and engaging the toe ofthe shoe. The first back attachment lip 14 is shown actuated andengaging the heel of the shoe 40, while the second back attachment lip(not shown) is remains in its flat, base position.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an embodiment of a disposable shoe bottom cover51 is shown on a high heel shoe 50 with a pointed toe. The bottom base52 is shown underneath the bottom of the shoe 50, covering the same,while in this embodiment, a single front attachment lip 53 is shownactuated and engaging the toe of the shoe 50. In addition, a single backattachment lip 54 is shown actuated and engaging the heel of the shoe40.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the disposable shoe bottom cover 10 is shown ona conventional gym shoe 60. The bottom base 11 is shown underneath thebottom of the shoe 60, covering the same, while the second frontattachment lip 13 is shown actuated and engaging the toe area of theshoe. The first back attachment lip 14 is shown actuated and engagingthe heel area of the shoe 60, while the second back attachment lip (notshown) is remains in its flat, base position.

The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what isconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It isrecognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within thescope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to aperson skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A disposable shoe bottom cover, comprising: abottom base defined as a substantially flat piece of elastic materialhaving a first end and an opposing second end, wherein said bottom baseincludes at least one front attachment lip disposed at its first end andat least one back attachment lip disposed at its second end; whereinsaid front attachment lip and said back attachment lip are configured tosecurely fit on the top portion of a shoe and the heel portion of a shoewhen actuated, respectively, and adapted to be actuated by manuallypulling and holding said front attachment lip in a first engagingdirection and said back attachment lip in a second engaging direction,which stretches the bottom base and which allows a shoe to be placed onthe bottom base, and releasing said pulling and holding once a shoe hasbeen placed on the bottom base.
 2. The disposable bottom shoe cover ofclaim 1, wherein at least two front attachment lips are disposed at thefirst end.
 3. The disposable bottom shoe cover of claim 1, wherein atleast two back attachment lips are disposed at the second end.
 4. Amethod of covering the bottom of a shoe, comprising the steps of:providing a disposable shoe bottom cover having a bottom base defined asa substantially flat piece of elastic material having a first end and anopposing second end, wherein said bottom base includes at least onefront attachment lip disposed at its first end and at least one backattachment lip disposed at its second end and said front attachment lipand said back attachment lip are configured to securely fit on the topportion of a shoe and the heel portion of a shoe when actuated,respectively; providing a shoe having either a rounded toe or a pointedtoe and either a narrow heel or a wide heel; actuating said frontattachment lip and said back attachment lip by manually pulling andholding said front attachment lip in a first engaging direction and saidback attachment lip in a second engaging direction, which stretches thebottom base; placing the bottom of the provided shoe on the bottom base;and releasing said pulling and holding.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein at least two front attachment lips are disposed at the firstend.
 6. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising the step ofselecting a first front attachment lip for the step of actuating if theprovided shoe has a pointed toe.
 7. The method of claim 5, additionallycomprising the step of selecting a second front attachment lip for thestep of actuating if the provided shoe has a rounded toe.
 8. The methodof claim 4, wherein at least two back attachment lips are disposed atthe second end.
 9. The method of claim 8, additionally comprising thestep of selecting a first back attachment lip for the step of actuatingif the provided shoe has a narrow heel.
 10. The method of claim 8,additionally comprising the step of selecting a second back attachmentlip for the step of actuating if the provided shoe has a wide heel. 11.A disposable shoe bottom cover, comprising: a base means for covering,wherein said base means includes a first end and an opposing second end;at least one front attachment means disposed on said first end; and atleast one back attachment means disposed on said back end.
 12. Thedisposable bottom shoe cover of claim 11, wherein at least two frontattachment means are disposed at the first end.
 13. The disposablebottom shoe cover of claim 11, wherein at least two back attachmentmeans are disposed at the second end.